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Pokemon Gen 4 (Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold/SoulSilver
Pokemon RPG/Games (Pokemon Diamond, Pearl) ''Pokémon Diamond Version and Pearl Version ''(ポケットモンスター ダイヤモンド&パール Poketto Monsutā Daiyamondo & Pāru?, "Pocket Monsters: Diamond & Pearl") are role-playing games (RPGs) developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. With the enhanced remake Pokémon Platinum, the games comprise the fifth installment and fourth generation of the Pokémon series of RPGs. First released in Japan on September 28, 2006, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe over the course of 2007. Like previous Pokémon games, Diamond and Pearl chronicle the adventures of a young Pokémon trainer as he/she trains and battles Pokémon while also thwarting the schemes of a criminal organization. The games add many new features, such as Internet play over the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and changes to battle mechanics and Pokémon Contests, along with addition of 107 new Pokémon. The games are independent of each other but feature largely the same plot and while both can be played separately, it is necessary to trade between them in order to complete the games' Pokédexes. Development of Diamond and Pearl was announced at a Nintendo Press conference in the fourth calendar quarter of 2004. The games were designed with features of the DS. It was forecasted to be released in Japan in 2005, but was shipped in 2006. In promotion of the games, Nintendo sold a limited-edition Nintendo DS Lite in Japan, and held a release party celebrating their North American release. The games received generally favorable reviews. Most critics praised the addition of Wi-Fi features and felt that the gameplay, though it had not received much updating from previous games, was still engaging. Reviewers were divided on the graphics, however, and the audio was criticized as being primitive. The games enjoyed more commercial success than their Game Boy Advance predecessors: with around 18 million units sold worldwide, Diamond and Pearl have sold over 2 million more units than Ruby and Sapphire and almost 6 million more units than FireRed and LeafGreen, while outselling their successors, Black and White, by over 2 million copies. Pokemon RPG/Games (Pokemon Platinum) ''Pokémon Platinum Version ''(ポケットモンスタープラチナ Poketto Monsutā Purachina?, lit. Pocket Monsters: Platinum) is a title in the Pokémon series of video games. It was developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced remake of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl in the same vein as Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald, which were remakes of Red and Blue, Gold and Silver, and Ruby and Sapphire, respectively. It was released on September 13, 2008, in Japan; March 22, 2009, in North America; May 14, 2009, in Australia' and May 22, 2009, in Europe. The developers made Platinum with the intent of making it a stronger version of Diamond and Pearl, which they described as the "ultimate" Pokémon titles. In Platinum, players control either a male or female child character and start off with one of three Pokémon — Chimchar, Turtwig, or Piplup — from Professor Rowan. The mascot Pokémon is Giratina, who plays a central role in the game's plot. While it only had one form in Diamond and Pearl, it is given a new alternate form alongside a new area called the Distortion World, which features altered physics from the normal land of Sinnoh, where the game takes place. The gameplay stays true to traditional Pokémon mechanics. Players explore a large area, which ranges from mountains to bodies of water, grasslands, populated areas, and snowy expanses. Similar to previous titles, players have their Pokémon fight turn-based battles against other Pokémon. Pokémon Platinum has been met with generally positive reception, holding aggregate scores of 84 and 83.14% at Metacritic and Game Rankings, respectively. It was praised for the additions and changes made to Diamond and Pearl by publications such as IGN, Nintendo Power, and GamePro, though it has also been criticized for being too similar to them. IGN ranked it as the ninth best Nintendo DS game ever made, as well as nominating it as one of the best DS role-playing games of 2009. It was the fastest-selling game in Japan at the time, selling 7.06 million copies by March 31, 2010. Pokemon RPG/Games (Pokemon HeartGold, Soulsilver) ''Pokémon HeartGold Version and SoulSilver Version ''(ポケットモンスター ハートゴールド&ソウルシルバー Poketto Monsutā Hātogōrudo & Sōrushirubā?, "Pocket Monsters: HeartGold & SoulSilver) are enhanced remakes of the 1999 video games Pokémon Gold and Silver. The games are part of the Pokémon series of role-playing video games, and were developed by Game Freak and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. First released in Japan on September 12, 2009, the games were later released to North America, Australia, and Europe during March 2010. HeartGold and SoulSilver take place in the Johto region of the franchise's fictional universe, which features special creatures called Pokémon. The basic goal of the game is to become the best Pokémon trainer in the Johto and Kanto regions, which is done by raising and cataloging Pokémon and defeating other trainers. The games are bundled with a peripheral called the Pokéwalker, a pedometer resembling a Poké Ball which can connect to the Nintendo DS game card via infrared signals. Game director Shigeki Morimoto aimed to respect the feelings of those who played the previous games, while also ensuring that it felt like a new game to those that were introduced to the series in more recent years. Reception to the games was highly positive, with the two being amongst the highest rated DS games of all time on Metacritic. As of March 2013, the games' combined sales have reached 12.67 million, putting the titles amongst the best selling Nintendo DS games.